Eating on a Budget

One of the biggest challenges for me during Feb Four Hundo is finding ways to economize on food. Last month I spent  $432 on groceries and $218 on restaurants. Or $650 total on food!

Over the 31 days of January, this works out to about $21 a day or $147 a week. This is above the $14.30/day budget I have set for myself for all non-mandatory expenses for February and well above the $9.70 a day (or $68.00 a week) that--according to the USDA--an average man in the 19-50 age range can feed himself on. No doubt, to get closer to the USDA target and my budget, I am going to have to get creative.

Good eatin' advice from Carl Weathers. 

Here's a little bit of what I've been doing do far to economize:

This is a whole chicken that I bought at a total cost of $2.96

I brined it, then I roasted it.

Then I put it on a plate with some cabbage and collard greens that cost about $1.50

After a few days of systematically devouring the chicken, this is what I am left with. 

If you have the keen eye of a Carl Weathers, you may have noticed that there's plenty of meat on those bones. So yesterday, I threw them in a pot with water to make a broth. Then I added some onions, carrots, and curry powder (at a coast of $2.00), which I pureed. And, baby, I got a stew going!